ELA7+Perseverance

Perseverance toc In this unit, students will build on their understanding of characters by examining those who persevered in a variety of challenging circumstances. Students will read a variety of literary and informational texts. They will continue to reflect on the impact historical events have on people and the impact these events have on literary characters. Students will delve more deeply into the internal and external conflicts that characters experience and the qualities the characters possess that help them overcome challenge.

=Common Core Standards= Students will: a. Analyze stories, drama, or poems by authors who represent diverse world cultures.
 * R.1** Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
 * R.3** Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact.
 * R.4** Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
 * R.5** Analyze how a drama's or poem's form or structure contributes to its meaning.
 * R.6** Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.
 * R.7** Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium.
 * R.9** Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history.
 * R.11** Recognize, interpret, and make connections in narratives, poetry, and drama, ethically and artistically to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, personal events, and situations.
 * b.** Use established criteria to classify, select, and evaluate texts to make informed judgments about the quality of the pieces.
 * W.1** Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
 * a.** Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
 * b.** Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
 * c.** Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence.
 * d.** Establish and maintain a formal style.
 * e.** Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
 * W.2** Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
 * a.** Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting, graphics, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
 * b.** Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
 * c.** Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
 * d.** Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
 * e.** Establish and maintain a formal style
 * f.** Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
 * W.4** Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
 * a.** Produce text that explores a variety of cultures and perspectives.
 * W.5** With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
 * W.6** Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.
 * W.7** Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.
 * W.9** Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
 * a.** Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literature
 * b.** Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literary nonfiction
 * W.10** Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
 * SL.1** Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
 * a.** Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
 * b.** Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
 * c.** Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others' questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
 * d.** Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.
 * e.** Seek to understand other perspectives and cultures and communicate effectively with audiences or individuals from a varied backgrounds.
 * SL.3** Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
 * SL.6** Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
 * L.1** Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
 * a.** Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and specific sentences.
 * b.** Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.
 * c.** Place phrases and clauses with a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers.
 * L.2** Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
 * a.** Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives.
 * b.** Spell correctly
 * L.3** Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
 * a.** Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.
 * L.4** Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
 * a.** Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
 * b.** Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word.
 * c.** Consult general and specialized reference materials, both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
 * d.** Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase.
 * L.6** Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

=Suggested Student Objectives= //**SWBAT:**//
 * Analyze conflict as a literary device;
 * Define and utilize contextual and academic vocabulary;
 * Read and discuss fictional and informational texts featuring real people or characters that demonstrate perseverance;
 * Compare and contrast historical contexts of texts with contemporary attitudes and values;
 * Analyze how environment, family, and culture shape characters;
 * Compare and contrast the play The Miracle Worker to film and print versions;
 * Conduct research on a person of interest who demonstrated perseverance;
 * Write a bio-poem and memorize and/or recite it for the class;
 * Sharpen grammar skills on capitalization and comma usage.

= Terminology/ Academic Vocabulary =


 * ** Academic Vocabulary ** |||| ** Text Based Vocabulary ** ||= ** ELA Vocabulary ** ||
 * grammar || perseverance || landing || conflict ||
 * captions || governess || confound || memoir ||
 * elaborate || asylum ||  || drama ||
 * summary || defective ||  || excerpt ||
 * central idea || acute congestion ||  || tone ||
 * sidebar || morose ||  || diction ||
 * symbolize || dumb ||  || onomatopoeia ||
 * || colloquialism ||  || critical lens ||

=Required Texts= The Miracle Worker, William Gibson, Drama New Directions, Maya Angelou, Memoir (Glencoe) Mother to Son, Langston Hughes, Poem (Glencoe & Springboard) Jackie Robinson's letter to President Dwight D. Eisenhower (photocopy) Integrated Bus Suggestions by Martin Luther King, Jr. Ten Attitudes of Successful Workers, Kate Lorenz, Article (Texts & Lessons) Jordan to be Hall of Famer (Resource Links)

=Suggested Additional Readings= The Road to Paris, Nikki Grimes, Novel (BG) The Pearl, John Steinbeck, Novel (Honors) Hoot, Carl Hiaasen, Novel (G) Maniac Magee, Jerry Spinelli, Novel (BG) Cuba 15, Nancy Osa, Novel (AG) Elijah of Buxton, Christopher Paul Curtis, Novel (G) Power of the Powerless: A Brother's Lesson by Christopher DeVinck, Memoir (photocopy) Rosa Parks: My Story, Jim Haskins, Biography (Glencoe) The Hard Part, Charles Osgood, Essay Ditching, Alan Lawrence Sitomer, Memoir (Springboard) Dreams, Langston Hughes, Poem (Glencoe) Watch Your Money Grow, Barbara Hagen, Article (Tool Kit Texts)

Although novels are listed as suggested readings, students should be assigned a novel based upon their reading level. Novels should be read independently, outside of class. Students should carry the novel back and forth to class. Novels should be used during class discussions and activities to assist students in meeting the unit's objectives. It is imperative that students be assigned a novel that is at their independent level. AG = Above Grade Level, G = Grade Level, BG = Below Grade Level. Novels can be substituted based upon resources and teacher discretion.

=Resource Links=

[|Video of Helen Keller speaking]

The Miracle Worker

Anne Sullivan: The Miracle Worker

The Miracle Worker: Synopsis, Ideas, and Writing Connections

ReadWriteThink: Helen Keller

Character Education Lesson: Perseverance

7 Must-Read Lessons on the Power of Perseverance

Poetry Foundation: Gary Soto

ReadWriteThink: Young Adult Literature about the Middle East: A Cultural Response Perspective



Brain Pop: Mount Everest

=Activities=

Compare prose and poetry for form, diction, and imagery. How do the form, diction, and imagery in "Mother to Son" compare to the form, diction, and imagery in New Directions? Write your initial ideas in your journal and then share ideas with a partner. Revise your writing to include additional ideas based on your discussion, if desired. Then write a well-developed paper, citing at least three specific examples from two different texts read. Edit your writing for sentence variety and spelling.
 * Informative/Explanatory Writing**

Reflecting on the novels and biographies read and discussed in class, write an informative/explanatory essay in response to the essential question: How do individuals, real and fictional, use words and actions to demonstrate perseverance? Cite specific details from texts read. After your teacher reviews your first draft, work with a partner to edit and strengthen your writing, especially for sentence variety and spelling.
 * Informative/Explanatory Writing**

As you read one of the novels or biographies about people or characters with perseverance, take notes in your journal about how the individuals are affected by the time period in which they lived. Be sure to note page numbers with relevant information or mark your text with sticky notes so you can go back and cite the text during class discussion. During what historical time period does the novel/biography take place? Where did the person or character live, and why? What was the individual's historical context? What role, if any, does the person or character's family play in his/her outlook on life? What obstacle(s) does the individual overcome? How? Prior to class discussion, your teacher may give you the opportunity to share your notes and/or collaborate with a partner who read the same text.
 * Note Taking**

Compare and contrast characters from various novels and biographies read. What similarities exist between fictional characters and real people? Can you generalize about the types of experiences that build perseverance? What destroys perseverance? After class discussion, create a Venn diagram in your journal that outlines the potentially positive and negative experiences.
 * Class Discussion**

Compare and contrast the historical context of the character or person who demonstrated perseverance with contemporary society.
 * Class Discussion**

Write an advice poem to a sixth grader after reading the poem "Mother to Son". Memorize the poem and read it aloud to the class. Record your recitation using a video camera so you can evaluate your performance.
 * Narrative Writing/Recitation**

Rewrite the poem "Mother to Son" using Standard English.
 * Paraphrasing**

Discuss the similarities and differences between the film and written version of the The Miracle Worker. Do reading and watching both versions give you a better picture of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan than if you read or saw one text? Speculate on why the film maker made the choices s/he did. Write your ideas in your journal. Then, share your ideas with a partner prior to discussing as a class.
 * Media Appreciation/Class Discussion**

While reading the text, The Miracle Worker, take notes on your graphic organizer to answer the question, Who is the main character? Be sure to note page numbers with relevant information or mark your text with sticky notes so you can go back and cite the text during class discussion.
 * Note Taking**

Teacher will conduct mini-lessons on conventions of word usage vs. colloquialims, and the use of clauses to combine ideas. Students will cite examples from texts read and be aware of usage in their own writing.
 * Grammar**

=Quarterly Assessment (Part I)= Write a Critical Lens Essay in which you discuss the conflict faced by a character from, __The Miracle Worker__. Choose one of the following statements to use as the perspective of the character and how the character changes in the face of the conflicts experienced.
 * Critical Lens Essay *Required***
 * "I have failed over and over again. That is why I succeed." -Michael Jordan
 * "All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming." //-//Helen Keller
 * "Laziness may appear attractive, but hard work gives satisfaction." //-//Anne Frank

In your essay, be sure to:
 * identify the conflict
 * provide a valid interpretation of the chosen statement
 * explain how the character changes
 * use specific details from the text

=Quarterly Assessment (Part II)= Multiple Choice questions from "The Story of My Life" by Helen Keller, from "The President's Speech to Students" by Barack Obama, "Most Valuable Player" by Sarah Van Arsdale

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